The cvmakeover blog
Short, direct advice on CVs, résumés, and getting hired — by locale.
ATS CV Template Test: 15 Free Word Resume Templates Parsed
We parsed the 7 resume templates Microsoft labels ATS plus 8 of its regular ones. What survived, what got merged or reordered, and how to fix a template.
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Best Font for Resume in 2026: 14 Fonts Through an ATS Parser
We ran 14 resume fonts, Aptos and a Calibri twin included, through two PDF text extractors. All 14 survived. Letter spacing, icon fonts and outlines did not.
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ChatGPT Resume Prompts: 10 Prompts That Keep Your Facts Intact
10 ChatGPT resume prompts with a fact lock, a redaction step based on OpenAI data controls, and what employers and AI detectors do with AI-written resumes.
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LinkedIn Easy Apply: Where Your Resume Goes After You Click
What LinkedIn Easy Apply sends, who receives it (the job poster or the employer ATS via Apply Connect), and how must-have screening questions reject applicants.
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NYC Local Law 144: Your Rights When AI Screens Your Application
What NYC Local Law 144 gives job applicants: the AEDT notice, the bias audit summary, a data request answered in 30 days, and where to complain.
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Resume ATS Score: What the Number Means and What Employers See
No ATS shows candidates a percentage. How checker scores are built, what Greenhouse and Workday show recruiters, and one resume scored nine ways in a test.
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Resume Headings: Standard vs Creative Labels in an ATS Parser
We ran one resume with 7 sets of section headings through an open-source parser. Standard labels kept every field; creative labels lost work history and education.
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Resume Keywords: How ATS Search Matches Them, Plus Role Lists
How Greenhouse, Workday and LinkedIn Recruiter match resume keywords, lists for six roles from O*NET job-posting data, and one real job ad worked through.
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Resume Parser: What It Pulled From One Resume in 37 Tests
How a resume parser turns your file into fields, shown on one resume with 37 variants: which job titles, dates, phones and locations it kept, and which it lost.
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How to Tailor Your Resume to a Job Description: Worked Example
Tailor a resume to one real job ad: map each requirement to evidence, rewrite three bullets, use two honest ChatGPT prompts, and stop short of fabrication.
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Two-Column Resume vs ATS: What Parsers Read in 15 Layouts
We built one resume in 15 layouts and extracted each with pdf.js, pdftotext and mammoth. Columns, letter spacing and Word headers reordered or lost text.
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Why Am I Not Getting Interviews? 5 Checks, in the Right Order
Why am I not getting interviews? Check the five stages in order: knockout questions, resume parsing, keyword match, the 7-second scan, then where you apply.
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Federal Resume Format 2026: The OPM Two-Page Rule, Explained
USAJOBS now caps federal resumes at two pages. Effective September 27, 2025. Here is what to keep, what to cut, and how to clear OPM screening on the new format.
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Resume Action Verbs That Pass the 7.4-Second Scan in 2026
Which resume verbs still earn a fixation in 2026 and which 10 overused ones now read as AI-written. A culled list with the bullet structure recruiters actually pause on.
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Resume Objective vs Summary in 2026: Which One, and What to Say
The objective is dead for most candidates in 2026 — here is the decision tree by career stage, two cases where it still earns its line, and what to write instead.
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ATS-Friendly Resume Format in 2026: What Parsers Read
What makes a resume ATS-friendly in 2026: the format Greenhouse and Workday parse cleanly, PDF vs DOCX, the layouts that still break, and a 5-minute test.
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CV Personal Statement Examples: What Works and What Fails
Six annotated CV personal statement examples — three that land interviews and three that get skimmed past. With the specific rewrites that fix them.
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CV vs Résumé: The Real Difference and Which to Send Where
The CV vs résumé distinction is about geography, not format. US non-academic = résumé. US academic or UK/Europe = CV. Here's how to route your document.
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Resume With No Experience: The 4 Sections That Replace Work History
Skip the functional resume. Build around Projects, Coursework, Volunteer Work, and Skills — four sections that prove capability without a job.
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How to Write a Resume Skills Section That Lands Interviews
A step-by-step guide to building a resume skills section that passes ATS scans, mirrors the job ad, and proves each skill with evidence from your work history.
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Resume Summary Examples That Survive a 7.4-Second Scan
Six resume summary examples built for the 7.4-second recruiter scan, with a before/after teardown and a copy-paste formula that works at any level.
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AI Resume Screening: How It Works and When to Opt Out
How AI resume screening scores your resume in 2026, what the "opt out of AI review" link on a job post does, and the notice and review rights you have.
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How Long Should a CV Be in 2026? The Definitive Guide
One page under 10 years' experience, two pages at senior level, longer only for academia. Here's the evidence behind each rule and when to break it.
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